Sand ring for insert pumps



March 25, 1952 D. 1'. HARBISON SAND RING FOR INSERT PUMPS Filed May 8, 1948 INVENTOR. Dixon 7T Herb/son ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 25, 1952 7 SAND RING FOR INSERT PUMPS Dixon T. Harbison, Fort Worth, Tex. Application May 8, 1948, Serial No. 25,853

Thisinvention relates to new and useful improvements insand rings for insert pumps.

The invention has to do with insert well pumps of the bottom hold-down type, wherein the tubing is provided with a seat and the lower end of the, pump is engaged in said seat and packed oil in said tubing, wherebythe pump extends upwardly in the tubing above said seat and leaves an annular space between the outer surface of said pump and the inner surface of the tubing.

In many wells, sand in suspension, is carried bythe liquid being pumped and part of this sand, which is discharged into the tubing, settles down in the annular space between the pump and tubing and builds up on the hold-down elements; thus becoming packed around the pump and making its removal in the usual manner impossible or extremely difficult.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved sand ring around the upper end of the pump engaging the wall of the tubing and preventing said settling therebelow in the annular space between said pump and tubing, thus making the pump readily removably in the usual manner. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved sand ring installation wherein a collapsible ring is loosely confined at the upper end of the pump and retained in its mounting when the pump is raised or lowered in the tubing and which ring, willbe expanded into fluid tight engagement with the tubing when the pump is seated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tubular bushing and a tubular rod guide, both top of the barrel 2|.

forming parts of the pump, detachably secured together and provided with a ring groove therebetween adapted to receive a flanged, collapsible sand ring and having means for loosely confining the ring therein.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional view of the upper portion of an insert pump having a sand ring constructed in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the lower portion of said pump,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the rod guide and tube 5 Claims. (Cl. 103-220) bushing with the sand ring loosely confined therebetween,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of the sand ring and its mounting, and

Fig. 6 is an isometrical view of the sand ring.

In the drawings, the numeral [0 designates the usual seat nipple which is coupled between sections of tubings II and I2, respectively. The nipple has a reduced bore l3 with an annular, inclined seat I4 at its top. The lower end of the, bore I3 is tapered at IE to a further reduced bore 16. The structural details of the pump [1 are unimportant, except as hereinafter described. These pumps have a foot sleeve l8 provided with an inclined annular shoulder l9 engaging on the seat I4.

The standing or foot valve 2!] is carried in the upper end of said sleeve and the pump barrel 2| of the pump has its lower end screwed into the top of the sleeve. The usual plunger 22 Working in the barrel has a valve cage 23 at its upper end, housing the travel valve 24. The lower end of the plunger rod 25 is screwed into the top of the cage. A tubular bushing or nipple 26 has reduced lower and upper pins 21 and 28, respectively. In-

termediate the pins, the bushing has exterior wrench faces 29. The lower pin 21 has external screw threads 30, whereby it is screwed into the At the base of the upper pin 28, an annular recess 3| is defined by an upstanding, marginal lip 32. The pin has external screw threads 33, spaced a substantial distance above the lip.

The pin 28 is inserted in the bottom of atubular rod guide 34, which has a counterbore 36 provided with internal screw threads 35, receiving the threads 33. An annular recess 37 at the bottom of the guide is defined by a depending, marginal lip 38, similarly to the recess SI and lip 32. The upper end of the pin 28 engages a shoulder 39 at the top of the counterbore 36 (Fig. 3) and thus spaces the recesses 3i and 31 and the lips 32 and 38 apart, and thereby providing a ring groove 40 for receiving and loosely confining a sand ring 4|.

The sand ring is preferably of the hard plastic or fibrous type and is split so as to be flexible and. collapsible. This ring as illustrated in detail in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 includes overlapping tongues 42 with gaps 43 at their ends, whereby the ring may be collapsed or expanded. The ring has upwardly and downwardly directed annular flanges 44, coincident with its inner periphery and considerably less in radial thickness than the annular areas of the recesses 3| and 37. This permits an amplified radial expansion of the ring, limited only by the engagement of the flanges with the lips 32 and 38. The sand ring may be referred to as floating.

The plunger rod 25 extends up through the bushing 26 and rod guide 34 and has a rod coupling 45 on its upper end, whereby it may be connected with the usual sucker rod (not shown). The rod guide has a reduced bore 46 in which the plunger rod has a sliding flt; the main bores of the bushing and guide being large enough of the pump.

lapsible ring in said groove, and opposed annular lips at the outer margin of the groove retaining the ring therein.

2. A sand ring assembly for an insert well pump having a pump barrel and adapted to be inserted as a unit in a well tubing, including a tubular bushing having means for attaching it to the upper end of the pump barrel, said bushing having a screw-threaded pin at its upper end and an annular recess at the base of said pin, a tubular rod guide having a screw-threaded bore receiving said pin, and spaced from the recess of the bushing whereby a ring groove is provided, a flanged collapsible ring loosely confined in said ring groove, and retaining means carried by the bushing and guide adjacent the flanged portion of said ring.

The insert pump I1 is lowered in the tubing in the usual manner. Since the sand ring 4| is flexible and collapsible it will readily pass through couplings and obstructions in the tubing. The lowering of the pump is continued until the shoulder 19" comes torest on the seat M This positions the sand ring 4|- in the tubing section II above the seat nipple l0, said section being shownin two lengths.

It is obvious that when a liquid isdischarged by the pump into thetubing above the ring, such liquid will enter the gaps 43 and flow into the ringgroove 40. The liquid being under hydrostatic pressure will expand thesand ring into a substantially liquid-tight seal with the inner wall of thetubing and consequently, the annular space A- below said ring will be shut off and any sand which settles out of the liquid will be caught by the ring.

Since the sand ring is only a short distance from-the top'of the rod guide 34 and thebushing 26- andpump elements are below said ring, sand is excluded from packing in the space A and interfering'With-the ready removal of'th'e pump. It is to be noted that the distance between the sand ring and the liquid discharge openings 41' explanatory thereof and various changes in the a bushing, a rod guide detachably secured to the' upper end of said bushing, means forming a ring groove between the bushing and guide, a col-- 3. A sand ring assembly for an insert well pump having a pump barrel and adapted to be inserted as a unit in a well tubing, including a tubular bushing having means for attaching it to the upper end of the pump barrel, said bushing having a screw-threaded pin at its upper end and an annular recess at the base of said pin, a tubular rod guide having a screw-threaded counterbore receiving the bushing pin,-the guide having an annular recess at its bottom spaced from the bushing recess, a flanged sand ring between the recesses, and opposed lips at the margins of the recesses retaining, the ring therein.

4. In combination with an insert well pump having a pump barrel and adapted to be inserted as a unit in a well tubing, a tubular bushing attached to the upper end of the pump barrel, a rod guide connected with the bushing, me'ans forming a ring groove between the bushing and guide, and a collapsible sand ring mounted in the ring groove adapted to engage the wall of the well tubing.

5. In combination with an insert well pump having a pumpbarrel and adapted to be inserted as a unit in a well'tubing', a rod guide connected to the pumpbarrel, means forming a ringg'roove between the rod guide and the pump barrel; and a collapsible sand ring mounted in the ring grooveiadapted to engage the wall of the well tubing. Y

DIXON T. HARBISON.

REFERENGE S' CITED" The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Mackin Dec'. 2-}194'7 

